Nottinghamshire (261-8) tied with Somerset (261-8)

Harry Gurney enhanced his reputation as one of the outstanding death bowlers in county cricket with a burst of three wickets in seven balls which helped to snatch Nottinghamshire a tie in a chaotic finish.

Gurney bowled Colin Ingram, who appeared to be steering Somerset to victory, and Craig Overton with full length deliveries in the space of five balls then had Alex Barrow taken at backward point from the first ball of his last over.

The left arm seamer, who has already played six one day internationals for England, came round the wicket to the right handers and bowled a succession of nerveless yorkers which left Somerset grateful to escape with the tie when Tim Groenewald scrambled a single off the last ball of an outstanding final over from Luke Fletcher.

“I love bowling at the death and I always have done. It’s a real challenge but you have to take that attitude to it really,” Gurney said.

Somerset were left to wonder how they failed to win a game they appeared to be romping when Marcus Trescothick and Nick Compton launched their chase with an opening stand of 125.

They needed 72 from the last ten overs with seven wickets in hand but lost their way after James Hildreth was yorked by Fletcher as Nottinghamshire expertly strangled the innings.

Trescothick, who scraped just 33 runs in six innings in a poor Twenty20 campaign, found form on his return to a format in which he once excelled for England with a commanding 61 but he could not watch the final over.

The match ended in confusion as Alfonso Thomas left his crease after Groenewald had levelled the scores and Nottinghamshire thought that he had been run out when square leg and umpire Graham Lloyd raised his finger. But the other umpire David Millns had already called over and Thomas’s dismissal would not have altered the result.

“Alfonso was playing games and keeping them on their toes. David Millns had called time I believe. It was all good fun but those times are always very nervous when the ball is flying everywhere,” Trescothick said.

There were plenty of promising starts in Nottinghamshire’s innings including an early fusillade of fours from Alex Hales and aggressive innings from Samit Patel and Riki Wessels.

Bu they required a restrained 60-ball 50 from James Franklin in a sixth wicket stand of 71 with Chris Read to build a total that stretched Somerset.